Raura- I'm talking about starting out as friends
by Holly Mae Medows
Summary: They start out as friends. Best friends. He loves. Does she love? She doesn't know. "No matter what, I'll always love you. As my best friend, forever and always. Here comes forever, Laura."
1. Chapter 1

{Please note: The first few chapters are REALLY short! (AND FREAKING TERRIBLE...) They get longer, I promise. And better!}  
Laura's P.O.V

Hi! I am Laura Marono, and I am 13 years old. I am very passionate about acting. And I guess this is where my story starts. It was the first day of school...

"Drama club?" Raini, my best friend, asked me. "Yes Raini! I would love to be in a play! Oh, it's a play called "The Princess King!" {A/N: This play is one I did for my drama club, I did NOT make it up. It was written by: Jeff Fluharty.} It's about a princess named Genevieve, and how she wants to take her father's place. It's very interesting!" I said shaking Raini. She shook her head playfully and looked at me. "Okay, Laura. But I'm trying out with you!" Raini smiled. "OHHHHHHH we should try out for Clover and Seabreeze!" I said. Clover and Seabreeze, work for 'Prince air guitar'. This should be interesting!

"I walked to my first class. I was carrying like 40 books. It felt like it anyway. Some guy came up to me and shoved all my books down. "Hahahaha!" He laughed. "What's your problem?!" I asked. "Nothing, but your face bothers me a bit." He chuckled. Another guy came up to him, and I was still on the floor picking up my books. "Hey, what did she do to you?" Asked the other guy. "She made my eyes hurt." The bully said. The other guy shoved him and glared. Then he came over to me and started helping me with my books. He spoke gently. "Don't mind Mathew. He's a jerk." The boy took his fingers and brushed his blonde hair back a little. "Yeah, Thank you for helping me. I'm Laura. " I smiled a bit. He looked up at me from picking up my books. Might I say his eyes were... very... brown... haha... "I'm Ross! What up?" He handed me my books. " Well, Ross, nice meeting you. I'm going to be late for class!" I ran towards my class. Funny thing, we were in the same homeroom class, and we sat next to each other. "What do ya know, it's blondie!" I said playfully. "And, on blondie's right, it's... (pauses to think of a nickname) ... ( narrows his eyes) (whispers) what is you last name?" He asked "Marano. my name is Laura Marano."


	2. Chapter 2

Ross's P.O.V

WELL! LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF. I am Ross Lynch! I've got blonde hair. Heh. I'm 13, and I'm in grade 7. I heard that they have a drama club at this school. Awesome! I guess I would like try acting, because personally, I'm really good at tricking my brothers. wouldn't do that to my sister, that would be cruel. :P I'm turning 14 next month, so... like two years until my drivers licence. Which means my flying licence...?

Anyway... I walked to the drama room, like a meeting to see when auditions were. I saw the girl that dropped her books earlier, Laura. Cool! I walked over to her and sat down. "Sup Marano?" "Hey Blondie," She smiled. "You like acting?" "Well, I want to try it." I posed like an actor would, with my hand on my chin. She giggled and turned towards a girls with, like, 4000,0000,000 hairs. "Raini, this is Ross." Laura took Raini's hand and mine. She hesitated and looked up at me. Then, she joined our hands. She giggled nervously. "Ross, meet Raini." I shook Raini's hand. "Hey, Ross! Raini and I are trying out for Clover and Seabreeze. You should try out for Prince Air Guitar!" Laura's eyes lit up. "Sounds good!" I played a fake air guitar. The girls laughed. "Attention! Thank you all so much for coming for this years Drama Club!" The Drama club leader explained all the commitments, times and places for the club. "Auditions will be held on Thursday after school at 2:55."{A/N: Their school ends at 2:50} "Let's go practice." Raini chimed and we filed out of the door. "You guys can come over after school. My family has a huge living room that we can use." I suggested.


	3. Chapter 3

Laura's P.O.V

I am SOOOOOOO exited for drama! And, PLUS, just made a new friend! YAY! We walked to Ross's house. And, UH it was, like, the most b-e-a-u-tiful house EVER. "Ross your house..." I looked at him with my enlarged eyes. We walked in his house, and we were greeted by a guy who looked to be Ross's brother. "YO, Ross BRUH, who the girls?" He high-fived Ross. "Uh, Laura, Raini, meet Riker. Where are the others bro?" Ross asked. "Others?" Raini cocked her head sideways. "Yeah, there is 5 of us. Me, Riker, Ryland, Rydel and Rocky. Plus... Ellington, he is our best friend. But we call him Ratliff. "Your all siblings?!" I screwed up my eyebrows. "Except for Ratliff." Ross nodded. "They are up stairs." Riker pointed up a stair case that as in a spiral. "OOOHHH I've always wanted to climb one of those!" I yelled. Ross chuckled. "Well... you can't. I'll just tell them to come down here." Ross teased. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed. "Yes. If you really want to I guess you could... but you'd have to race me from the kitchen!" Ross challenged. "But I'm slow!" I crossed my arms. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to his kitchen. "OKAY FINE!" I pouted. "ONE TWO. THREE. GO!" Ross yelled. I ran as fast as I could. Ross was ahead but I was right behind. I crashed into him, and we fell beside each other. "HAHA!" I laughed at him. I got back up and made it to the bottom of the stairs, panting. "I... Beat...you..." I said out of breath. "AW man. I lost to a girl..." Ross joked. I waited for him to show Raini and I up stairs. He showed us upstairs and Riker stayed down stairs. Something about left over lasagna...? Anyway...

"Hey guys! Come see my new friends!" Ross screamed in the middle of the hallway. "I don't wanna! your friends ore always boring." This was a girl's voice. "Delly, they are girls." Ross folded him arms. A girl came out of one of the doors. "OHHHHHHHH! ROSSY DO YOU HAVE A GIRLYFRIEND?" The girl ran out to greet us. "No Rydel. Just... friends."

So we met Ross's family...

They are quite the bunch. I guess... we practice now! EEEP!


	4. Chapter 4

Ross's P.O.V.

Laura beat me in a race. :(. But it was cute how she... eh hem. What? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA... We went to my living room...

"Oh... wow... this room is huge!" Laura started dancing goofy like all around the room. Raini awkwardly backed away. "Where's your bathroom?" I pointed to a door down the hallway. She raced to it. Embarrassed Raini? Haha. I laughed at Laura. I turned on the radio and started goofy dancing with her. I took her by the hand and pulled her closer to me. Then I flung her across the room. "Shake it off" was playing. She twirled and whirled and fell onto the couch. She laughed. "HATERS GONNA HATE HATE HATE HATE!" She sang at the top of her lungs. I shut the radio off. We collapsed on the couch and laughed until our bellies hurt. I looked at Laura she still smiled from laughing. {A/N: The red correction lines on hate hate hate hate ARE KILLING MEE! sorry I had to get that out.} She looked over at me and laughed again. Raini came back to see us panting on the couch. "Try not to tell CHINA that haters are going to hate. IN _AMERICA!_ " Laura and I continued laughing. "Let's get practicing." I got up off the couch, followed by Laura. "Hey, Raini?" Laura asked. "Yeah Laura?" Raini spun around towards Laura. "Shake it off." She burst out laughing, followed by me.

"Okay, here are the practice scripts." I handed the girls our practice parts. Laura wanted to be Seabreeze. Raini was Clover, and I was prince Air Guitar. {A- air ) C-clover. Raini) S-Seabreeze. Laura)}

A- Honestly, Tina, I've been training WAAAY hard for this contest. But, I haven't been doing it alone. Clover, Seabreeze, come on out.

C- HI! I'm Clover. Prince Air Guitar's personal polities instructor!

S- And I'm Seabreeze, his personal nutritionist!

C- Without a doubt, he will be the leanest and fittest prince in this contest.

S- It's true. I have him on a primary color diet. He only eats red, blue and yellow foods. It has him completely balanced.

A- Tina, I feel balanced. Soon we will be partying like it's 1399, baby. YOW!

"And, scene." I pretended to clap a clapboard.


	5. Chapter 5

Laura's P.O.V

OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! AUDITIONS! YAY! Sorry... I'm exited. Raini came up to me in the hall at school. I was probably showing to much excitement.

"Lauraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." Raini picked me up and shook me. "Rainiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..." I mocked her. "AUDITIONS!" We screamed. Ross snuck up behind Raini. "BOO!" I laughed so hard I literally fell. Raini screamed and nearly punched Ross in the face. But Ross ducked. I, was still laughing. "Oh my god Ross! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" I held my stomach because it hurt. I laughed more anyway. I was still on the floor and Raini pretended to kick me. "BOO HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!" After I finally stopped laughing, we walked to our lockers. Ross was waiting for me at my locker. Raini was in the class. He studied my white board. It said, "8 days until my birthday" With 14s all around it. "Your turning 14?" He asked. I nodded. He smiled. "My birthday is exactly one month after yours" I locked my locker. "No way! I'm older than you!" I blew him raspberries. "You farted." Ross crossed his arms. "Ross... that's my tounge ... I was blowing raspberries at you. PPHHTTTPHHTTT" I stuck my tounge out. "Whatever Marano." He walked beside me.

~AFTER SCHOOL~

We all walked to the theater and sat down in the plastic flip chairs. Ross was humming something. It sounded pretty. The melody, not his voice. His voice was... really good. {A\N: It was here comes forever by R5. They hadn't written it yet) "That sounds good," I said and he jumped. "Oh, thanks..." He laughed. "Ross, it's funny... you and your brothers all have names that start with R." He shrugged and wrote in a little note book. "There's 5 of you. Your like... R5." I liked the sound of it. He looked up. "R5? That sounds like a band name." " I suppose. But isn't it catchy?" I asked. "Yeah, it is." He admitted. Just then, Mme. Sprague came into the theater. She's the drama teacher. She told us how auditions would work, and that we could audition in groups and the order that we were going in. We watched a few people audition for our roles, but they weren't very good. "Uh, next up... Calum Worthy as the part of Other Prince?" Mme. Sprague announced. A guy-a tall guy- with bright red hair stepped up on stage. "You can start when your ready" Mme. Sprague said. "What kind of role is... other prince? I once played hamlet, and now I'm the 'other prince'?" His audition was hilarious! "Oh my god! HAAHAAA! This guy HAS this part!" Raini laughed. He was really funny. I would love working with him. The guy went to sit down, but someone took his place. "What was his name?" I asked Ross. "Calum?" He replied. "Hey, Calum! There's a seat here!" I waved to him. He smiled and sat next to me. "Thanks." "Your audition was hilarious!" I commented. "Was it? Your next eh?" He asked. " I think we are nex-" I was interrupted. "Laura Marano, Raini Rodriguez and Ross Lynch as Clover, Seabreeze and Air Guitar?"

"That's us!" Raini hopped up followed by Ross and I. We did our audition as we practiced. Now we just had to wait... did we get the part? "That was all we have for Auditions! The results will be posted tomorrow." Mme. Sprague chimed. "Hey, uh Laura right?" Calum asked as everyone started to leave. "Yeah!" I answered. "Could I be your friend? And by that I mean like hang out with you guys?" He pointed to Ross and Raini. "Why not?" I smiled. "Hey, meet our new friend Calum!" I showcased Calum to Raini and Ross. "Cool, a dude! Now I won't be seen hanging out with just girls." Ross teased. "Wow Ross." Raini said sarcastically. "Whatever." He laughed. "Hey, I got a new pool, you guys want to come over this weekend?" I asked. "Laura isn't it a little cold to go swimming? It's November." Calum pointed out. "This is California. It's still quite warm out." I told him. "Oh, sorry. I'm from Canada. It's always cold in November there." He said. "This weekend it is!" Ross got out his note book and ripped 3 pieces of paper out. "Write your address." He handed me a pen. I did as I was told. "What's the 3rd one for? Raini knows my address." Raini nodded after my comment. "Oh, right." I gave one to Calum and one to Ross. "See you tomorrow Laur." Ross called. "Jeez, he's calling you nicknames already." Raini said as he left. "Yeah... but I think it's cute." Calum said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Oh, you guys aren't together? Oops." Calum looked away. "That's okay. I don't know why he called me Laur." I admitted. "Hm. Well, I'll see you in homeroom tomorrow Laura." Raini left. "Bye Calum!" I said. "Goodbye Laura! What homeroom are you?" He asked. "7E"I replied. "Oh cool I'm in 7D." He said. "See you tomorrow!" I yelled as we parted. I still couldn't help but think about Ross's nickname for me. Yeah, I called him Blondie, but I mean it's because I didn't remember his name. And Marano is my last name. Teachers call me that. But I just couldn't understand Laur... I thought about it the whole walk home. Though Calum was right. It was kind of cute.


	6. Chapter 6

Ross's P.O.V

I came home and Rydel was at the door. "ROSSYYYYYYYYYYYY! How did auditions go?" She asked. "Good. I met a new friend. His name is Calum. He was really funny." I told her. "Cool! Hey I really liked Laura and Raini. Do you think we could have them over this weekend for a sleepover?" Rydel asked. "Yeah. Can Calum come too?" I wondered. "I guess." She shrugged. "We are all going to Laura's house that weekend to swim in her new pool. I could call and ask if you could come." I offered. "Okay, thanks Ross." She skipped away happily. Jeez she's older than me and still less mature. I laughed a little at my thoughts. I took out my cell phone and called Laura. "Hello?"

"Hey Laura."

"Oh, Hey Ross!"

"So this weekend my sister wanted you and Raini plus Calum to come to our house for a sleepover"

"Cool! We can go after we swim."

"Yeah can Delly come to the pool too?"

"Of course."

"Thanks Laura."

"No problem."

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye."

I hung up and told Rydel that they were coming for the sleepover and that she could go with us to Laura's pool. I ran up the stairs into my room. {A/N: Copy this link into your search engine bar to see his room. I couldn't get it on here for some reason.  images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQR71Uzc1AkVvLWwQ6yIiIIZHPltBOgnTioUa6f0b838kbvth5DQQ } I climbed up the ladder to my bed and thought. Tomorrow it will be 6 days until Laura's birthday. My family, Raini, Calum and I would have to plan a very special day for her. 14 is a big number.

At school, I waited with Raini and Calum for Laura. We were discussing her birthday. "A Go-gurt party!" Raini exclaimed. "Laura loves Go-gurt." "No, we can't have a whole party dedicated to Go-gurt. We could make an ice cream cake, but instead of frozen yogurt, it could be frozen Go-gurt!" I said excitedly. "I like it!" Raini nodded her head vigorously. "Oh, and her favorite place is the Pottery Paint shop. You paint pottery moulds." Raini added. "We can go there. Then, since her birthday is on Thursday and that's a PD day at school, we can go there after we get something to eat." I was writing this all down in my note book. "Where to eat?" Calum asked. "She would probably like to go to a place that serves poutine." Raini looked over to Calum. "She likes Canadian food?" He asked. "Yeah, she went to Canada once with her family and ate poutine. She's obsessed with it! She makes it sometimes but I think it would be nice if there was a restaurant that served it." Raini explained. "There's a cultural place down by Ming's diner. It's called 'Dine Worldwide'. They probably serve it there!" Calum said smartly. "Great. We'll go there, pottery, Go-gurt?" I asked. "Yeah. And she has always wanted fireworks on her birthday." Raini folded her hands. "We could rent a field then buy some cheap fireworks at the gas station. They're like 50$ for a twenty pack." I suggested. "Okay. Who has like 100 bucks?" Raini asked. "I'm getting 20 for allowance tomorrow." Calum chimed. "I am getting 30 but I can ask if they can pay me a month's worth then, so we have enough. I get up to 50 a month and I already have 25 saved up." I was still writing this down. "Dude your parents are rich!" Calum exclaimed. I chuckled. "So, eat, pottery, Go-gurt and fireworks?" I looked up at Raini and Calum. "Yep! And in perfect timing. Here she comes!" Raini said pointing at Laura. She sat down beside me. "Hey Laur!" I said. She looked at Raini all funny. Calum whispered something in Raini's ear. I could make out the words "not a couple yet". "Hi Ross." She smiled. Her smile was so pretty. It seemed to light up the gloomy cafeteria. The bell rang and the 4 of us walked to our classes together. Laura tripped on the stairs. "Ahhh!" She wailed. She was wearing light colored jeans, and you could see blood underneath with a few rips and tears. "Laura are you okay?" I held my hand out. She grabbed it and a sudden wave of affection went through me. I didn't know what it meant. My heart pounded and I laughed nervously. I pulled her up picked up her books and gave them to her. She was limping badly. Raini and Calum were ahead so they didn't notice. "Here" I took her books and squatted. "Get on my back." She climbed onto my back and I stood up easily. I carried her all the way to her locker. "Thanks Ross." There was that beautiful smile again; I loved it.

At lunch hour, the four of us went to Mme. Sprague's room to see if we got the parts. Laura was not exited at all. She was on my back chewing her hair. She was probably nervous. We looked at the sheet. Laura screamed. "WE GOT IN WE GOT IN!" She bounced up and down on my back. I smiled wide along with the rest of them. "Congratulations!" Mme. Sprague appeared with scripts. They had our name printed in fancy fonts at the top. The script books were purple/blueish with a princess on the front. Raini jumped up and down. She went to hug Laura. "Uh, I can't really hug you." Laura said. She gripped my neck harder because she was slipping. "Try hugging Ross and I at the same time." Raini did so, and then Calum hugged us. Laura was hugging my neck so hard that I made choking noises. "Sorry..." Laura relased. Calum laughed. "Sombody's birthday is next week!" Raini smiled. "I wonder whos?" Laura said sarcastically. "So obvious. It's my cats." Calum smiled like an idiot. "Really Calum?" I laughed. We just talked about this. "No, I know its Laura's." Calum laughed. Laura started to mess up my hair. "I'll drop you." I threatened. She stopped, and I kind of missed the feeling. Why? I honestly don't know why Laura makes me feel this way. I just... wait... do I...? Nah.


	7. Chapter 7

Laura's P.O.V

I can't believe that we actually got into drama! I was at my house getting ready to go swimming, and packing my bags to go to Ross's. I was really scared, it was my first sleepover. I don't know if I will stay...

"Vanessa! My friends are coming over in 15 minutes!" I yelled down stairs to my sister. I looked through my droor for a swimsuit. I had one bikini, but I HATE it. I took out my black one with rainbow ribbons on it. I changed into it and put my white cover-up on with my rainbow flip-flops. I walked downstairs to see Vanessa in her blue two-piece bathing suit. She looked at me. "Why don't you wear your bikini?" She asked. "I don't like it, Ness." "Why? Don't you want to look good for that Ross guy?" I blushed. "What do you mean?" "You were saying how he was so nice blah blah blah." She laughed. "I don't like him like that," I said. "Oh." The doorbell rang. "Oh, that's them!" I skipped to the door and opened it. "Hey Laura!" I hugged them all. When I hugged Ross he picked me up and spun me around. "Ross, my leg doesn't hurt anymore!" I laughed as he put me down. He inspected it as if he were a detective. "Looks clean to me." I giggled and over heard Vanessa talking to Raini, Calum and Rydel. "They are so cute." "Are we going swimming or what?!" Ross laughed. We headed out to my pool deck. Ross and Calum took off their shirts and I took off my cover up. Ross was staring. "Ross?" He jumped. "Oh sorry..." He laughed nervously. I laughed back. Calum yelled. "WHO WANTS TO BE THROWN IN?!" "No thanks," Raini and I said together. We giggled. Vanessa stood in front of Calum. "Be gentle," She pleaded. Calum picked her up. "Whoa!" He threw her into the pool. _SPLASH!_ Ross looked at me. "Oh no." I said. He nodded. "NOOOOOOO!" I started running on the pool deck, {Which by the way is very unsafe!} and Ross chased me. "ROSS NO!" He took me by the waist, and reached the pool. "Please don't hurt me." I told him. "I won't." He held me close, and jumped into the pool. "RO-" Our heads bobbed above the water and we laughed. Rydel dove in. Raini snuck up behind Calum, and pushed him in. "AHHHHHHH!" _SPLOOSH!_ We all laughed and Raini leaped in. "Did you guys eat?" I asked. "No. We are having a sleepover Laur," Ross laughed. Jeez , what is with the nickname? "Oh... haha yeah." Honestly, I had no idea what it was like to sleep without my parents in the house. Raini has stayed over at my house before but... I never stayed at another house before. I was kind of glad that Ness and I didn't eat. Calum looked at his watch. "We can have a couple hours in here." I looked confused. "Calum, why is your watch in the pool?" "It's water proof." He said. "Oh." "Hey, there's a timer on it. Want to see who's fastest at finding one of those pool toys?" Calum pointed to a basket of pool toys. I nodded and got a ring that sunk. I was going first. I covered my eyes and Calum threw it somewhere in the pool. I heard a beep. "Go!" I dove in the water, and blinked my eyes open. I saw a blurry ring figure and I grabbed it. I came back up. "15 seconds." Calum reported. Next was Ross. "Go!" When he came back up, Calum told him "20 seconds." "Yesssss!" I exclaimed. "Dammit," Ross muttered. "Ross don't swear." I teased. He stuck his tounge out at me. "It's not even a swear word." He crossed his arms. "Yeah but your a little kid." I said. "Your still 13." He pointed out. "Yeah, but I'm still older than you." Next was Vanessa who came up with 17 seconds. Rydel had 21, and Calum ended up with 23. "I won?!" I asked in disbelief. They nodded. Wow, I won at something! After we swam around for a while then got out. "Hey, you guys can still go to the sleepover, but I want to stay here with Vanessa. " Rydel watched Vanessa nod. "Okay, even though this was your idea." Ross laughed. I went inside to get my bag. "Rydel, do you mind driving us back?" Ross asked. "Nope!" She chimed. She drove us back and we headed inside. "Mom, Dad!" Ross screamed. He walked into the kitchen to see a bright yellow sticky note on the table. He read it out loud. "Dear Ross, we have decided to take your brothers on a trip to an overnight hotel because of your sleepover. Rydel called me and said she was staying with Vanessa, so treat your guests nicely, see you in the morning, Mom and dad. xoxoxo" He shrugged. "Well we have the house to our selves." Calum smiled happily "Hey, you know what, at our age we aren't responsible. We should reschedule."I nodded vigorously. "Come on, Laura." Raini pleaded. She knew this was my first time having a sleepover out of my house. "Fine." I said. Ross got 4 chocolate bars and a bag of popcorn for each of us. "We are each getting our own bag?" I asked. "Hell yeah!" Ross yelled. "Ross middle name Lynch!" I scolded. "Say that again." He laughed. "Ross... (Looks around the room for something with his middle name on it. Finds school picture on the fridge.) Ross Shor Lynch!" "I hate that picture," He hissed. "Too bad!" I laughed. "I think it's... cu-niceeeeeee...!" I stopped myself from saying cute. Ok, it looked like his third grade picture! "Uh, thanks I guess." Ross took the picture and threw it out. "Well then." Calum said. "Let's watch a movie." Ross led us into the living room. "What movie?" Raini asked. "Romeo and Juliette!" Ross exclaimed. "Why?" Calum cocked his eyebrow. "Uhm, I was... kidding! Hahahahaha..." He laughed nervously. "How about Horror in Hollywood?" Ross suggested. "Great!" Raini and Calum responded. "Laura?" Ross looked over to me. I was sitting on his couch, close to tears. "Yeah, sounds... g-great." I didn't want to come here in the first place. And now, we're watching a horror film? "You know what? I think I'd rather watch Despicable me." He said, still looking at me. "Why? I'm not crying, an eyelash fell in my eye." I lied. "No... I didn't think you were crying, I'd just rather not... watch that." Ross said flashing a small smile at me . Did he know I was scared of the movie? He put the disk in the DVD player and sat next to me. "Are you alright?" He asked, putting his arm around me. "Y-yeah..." My heart skipped a beat as I looked up at him. He smiled warmly, giving me butterflies. I didn't get it. Calum looked at Raini. "I'm going to go get the popcorn ready," Raini said. "Yeah, I'll go with you." Calum left with Raini. Ross and I stared into each other's eyes. "I-I..." I started. "Yeah..." He said. I looked away from him and he pulled his arm away awkwardly. As Calum and Raini came back with the popcorn, we started the movie. I looked up at Ross and he was watching the screen, laughing. It was something about his smile that made my heart twist in my chest.

"Hey, guys, we should get ready for bed." Ross looked at me. I was pretending to sleep so we could get this night over with. "She's so cute when she sleeps," Ross smiled. Raini looked confused. "Do you like her, Ross?" "W-what? No! What makes you think t-that?" He stuttered nervously. "Because you called her _cute_." Calum bumped his head with his hand. "W-well y-yeah, but I mean like... cute like a baby! Like, a kitten. A puppy! Not like, pretty. I don't like her like that." Ross shook me awake. "Huh?" I pretended to wake up from a deep sleep. "We are going to bed now." He whispered. "Oh okay." We all got ready and headed up to Ross's room. "Laura and Raini, you can sleep in Rydel's room if you'd like." Ross offered. No, I didn't want to. If it was just Raini and I, she'd ask about Ross. I know she would. "I will." Raini said. "I'd rather not." I spread out my sleeping bag. "Are you sure you'd like to sleep in a room full of boys?" Calum asked. "Yeah, I'm okay." "Suit yourself." Raini headed to Rydel's room. "Hey, want to play truth or dare?" Ross asked. "Uh, no thanks." I sat down on my sleeping bag, dressed in my emoji pyjamas. "We won't ask stupid dares or truths. Like for you to kiss Ross. Or the wall." Calum promised. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yeah, and you don't have to do it if you don't want to." Ross added. "Okay, I'll play." The boys cheered. "Okay, Laura you ask me or Calum." Ross sat on his bed with Calum beside him. "Uhh, Ross, Truth or Dare?" I asked Ross. "Hmm, I pick dare." He smiled evilly. "Okay, I dare you to pretend to propose to Calum!" We laughed. Ross looked around the room and found a ring pop. He took it out of the package. I took out my phone and recorded it. He kneeled down in front of Calum. "Calum Worthy. You and I have been friends for a while. By a while, I mean a couple days." I laughed because Calum had a "I can't believe it" look on his face. "And that may be true. But I can't hide my feelings anymore. Calum David Webster Worthy, will you marry me?" Ross finished. "Yes! Yes I will! I love you, Ross!" Calum pretended to blow his nose in his sleeve. We burst out laughing. I stopped recording. "Okay, it's my turn."Ross looked up to Calum. "Truth or dare?" He asked. Calum thought for a moment. "Truth." "Okay, what is your biggest fear?" Ross asked. "Well, I'm afraid of butterflies and dragonflies." He answered. "Hmm, okay. Calum, you ask." Ross fluffed his hair. "Laura! Truth or dare?" Calum asked excitedly. "T-truth." I hugged my knees. "Do you have a crush on anyone?" He asked. My heart skipped a beat. _Do I like Ross?_ I thought. "Do I have to tell you who?" I asked. "Your choice." Calum shrugged. Relief flooded over me. "I don't know if I like him just yet." I answered. "Okay." Calum said. After a few more rounds, we started to get into our sleeping bags. Ross slept up in his bed. He shut off the lights. I layed in my sleeping bag for about an hour, wondering wither I liked Ross or not. I couldn't sleep. I saw Ross up in his bed. He was awake on his phone. "Ross?" I whispered. He jumped and looked down at me. Calum was snoring, so he wouldn't be waking up. "I need to tell you something. This is my first sleepover." I confessed. "Your scared, aren't you?" He asked gently. "Y-yes." His eyes looked soft as he smiled. "Don't worry." He took his blankets and pillow down the ladder and placed them beside my sleeping bag. "You can sleep in my bed, if you'd like." He offered. "No thanks." I stared down at my legs. "Ok, why don't I sleep down here with you?" He asked. "You would do that for me?" I stared at him. "Yeah." "Okay, but do you mind if I sleep next to you?" I asked, trying not to sound nervous. "I usually sleep next to Vanessa when I'm scared. I know it's awkward..." He rolled onto his side and opened his arms. I smiled and scooched towards his chest. I layed against him sideways, on the opposite direction he was facing. He placed an arm over my stomach (I was surprised he couldn't feel the butterflies fluttering around.) and another arm just above my pillow. "Thank you, Ross. Wake me up early so no one catches us like this. I don't want them thinking it's serious between us." I snuggled closer to him, feeling safe and secure in his arms. "Hey Ross?" "Yeah Laura?" He looked down at me. "Remember truth or dare? And I said I didn't know if I liked the guy?" I asked. "Yeah." "Could you help me with that?" "Yeah." I felt his hand above the pillow reach mine. "How do I know if I like him?" I asked. "Tell me how he makes you feel." He watched me turn my gaze forward. "Alright... he is so kind, and funny. But he can also be serious, and most definitely soft. He makes me get butterflies when ever we look at each other, touch hands or even talk. And when he smiles, my world lights up. It makes my heart twist and my stomach flip. But we just met a few weeks ago." Ross looked down at me. "I think you like him. I wish a girl thought about me that way." "Trust me Ross, they do." I looked up at him, and we held the gaze. "I'm sure you drive her crazy. She wants to stay in your arms forever. She feels safe next to you. She might not know what love means, but if she did, she knows that you make her feel it." "Thanks Laur." He smiled. "I like that nickname. It's growing on me."


	8. Chapter 8

Ross's P.O.V

I. Am. In. Love.

Laura Marono, I am in love with you. After the night of the sleepover, I couldn't get the moment out of my head. I guess she likes someone else. The way she talked about him- I wish it were me. I can't hide it anymore! I opened my note book. I looked at the song lyrics. Me and my brothers and Ellington wanted to start a band. We have a few songs, and I'm working on one now. It's about a beautiful girl, who turns 14 tomorrow. Laura. I read the song lyrics I had so far.

 _"I'm talking about starting out as friends, I'm talking about real and not pretend, I'm talking about roles of a life time, you and I can even write the end yeah, here comes that movie scene the one you think is so cliché..."_ That's all I had, but I was proud of it. I walked out of my room. "WAKE UP!" I yelled down the hallway. I heard groaning. Rocky. He came out of his room. "Ross it's 7:00 in the morning." He whined. "Laura's birthday is tomorrow! It has to be perfect! Besides, you need the extra half hour to get ready for school." We heard screaming. "IT'S ALREADY 7:00?!" Rydel always wakes up at 6:30 on school days. She rushed out of her room, ran down stairs and rummaged through the cupboards for something to eat. Riker slowly walked out of his room. He let out a low groan. "Rossssss..." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "It's 7 in the morning." He staggered down the stairs. Rydel ran up the stairs, nearly tripping Riker. Her face was covered in milk and cereal bits. She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. Ryland came out of his room brushing his teeth. "Hey, guys! What about R6 for a band name?" I asked, my voice echoing down the hallway. Rydel's head popped out of the bathroom. She had toothpaste foam all over her mouth. "I like it! It wouldn't be R6 though because Ryland wanted to be the manager." She whipped her head back into the bathroom. "Then... R5!" Rocky screamed. _Just like Laura said- R5._ I was locked in a daze, thinking about... her. Riker started shaking me. "Shor, stop dreaming about girls, it's not gonna happen." Riker chuckled. "I-I wasn't thinking about girls, I was thinking about Lau-drama." I caught myself from saying Laura. "What is laudrama?" Riker asked. "Oh, it's Portuguese for drama. Our teacher calls it that," I quickly made something up. "Hmm." He looked suspicious.

I got off the bus at my stop, the rest of my family waving goodbye. I was the younger brother, so they were all in high school and I was in middle school. I adjusted my book bag to the right position, and ran into my red headed friend. "Calum!" I shouted. He spun around. "Hey Shor," He smiled widely. "Seriously, is everyone calling me by my middle name?!" I watched Calum shrug. Raini skipped up behind us. "Hey! I rented the field for tomorrow night." She said cheerfully. "Great. Do we have the fireworks?" I asked hopefully. "Not yet." Calum replied dryly. "Do you have reservations for the Pottery Paint place?" I looked over to Raini. "Yes. And Calum said he had the reservations for Dine Worldwide." Calum nodded, following Raini's response. "Good. Okay, we need the fireworks. Calum, after school, you and I will go get them. Raini, make sure Laura doesn't go near the convienece store." I peeked over my shoulder. "Laura." I whispered. Jeez, why does she do this to me? A neon green sweater, jean shorts and birkenstoks? She looks amazing in any outfit. She walked up to us. "Hey Laura!" I smiled as she ajusted her book bag. She was blushing. It was pretty hot outside, and she was in a sweater. Even though it was November. "Hello Ross." She started to pull her sweater off to reveal a tie-dye shirt that had "Ross, Raini and Calum are my best friends." on it. She smiled and pulled out the same ones but the names varied on the matter of our names. "I made them last night." She handed them too us. Mine was yellow, red and orange. All of them had yellow and red, but Raini's had pink, Laura's had bright purple and Calum's had blue. "Awesome!" We said in unison. She jumped up excitedly. I tore off my shirt, and threw on the new one. Calum did the same. "Well I'm not doing that," Raini spat. She ran into the school to change. "HEEYYYYYYY! Guess what day it is tomorrow!" Laura clenched her fists in excitement. "Oh yeah, it's a day off of school." Calum teased. Laura frowned. I picked her up by the waist. "What could possibly be special about tomorrow?" joked, spinning her around. She laughed as hard as she possibly could. I put her down. "I'm totally kidding! It's your birthday!" I chuckled. Raini came back with her shirt on. Laura clapped. "A happy Laura is an awesome Laura!" Laura hugged Raini. "BEST BIRTHDAY EVE EVER!" She screamed. I laughed. "Birthday eve?" She nodded. "c'mon," Calum signaled to us to go inside the school. "let's go inside." We headed inside, the cafeteria was bare. I remembered Riker's idea for today. Buy a muffin and put a fake candle on it. "I'll be right back." I said as we sat down at a table. I walked up to the snack cart. The lady looked at me. "Hi Ross. What can I do for you today?" She smiled. "Hi, Shelly. Do you know Laura Marano's favorite muffin? It's her birthday tomorrow." I pulled out the fake candle from my book bag. She nodded. "It's chocolate. And $1.25." I laughed and handed her the candle. She stuck it in a chocolate muffin and switched it on. "Here," Shelly handed me a card. "Make her something special, Ross." The card had a cat on it, who was sticking out it's tounge. It was stained rainbow from a snow cone, that was at the bottom of the card. It was blank inside. "Thank you, Shelly." I handed her money. The cafeteria was empty, so I took this chance to sing happy birthday really loud. I started from back at the snack cart. "Happy birthday to you," I walked towards her. Her eyes were enlarged. "Happy birthday dear Laura, Happy birthday to you!" I handed her the muffin. She squealed, took out the candle, handed it to me, took off the rapper and shoved the muffin in her face. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." She closed her eyes, chewing and not bothering with all the chocolate all over her face. The four of us laughed until the bell rang.

AFTER SCHOOL

I was walking beside Calum to the Ultramar. (The convenience store.) "Got the money?" I asked. He nodded. "Hey, Ross?" Calum asked. "Yeah man?" I looked up at him. "Do you like Laura?" Really Calum? "Uh, w-well yeah, she's m-my friend..." He nodded. "Okay." We headed into the store and grabbed the package of fireworks. We walked to the front desk. "Hi, is this everything?" The man asked. "Yes." I nodded handing him the money. We walked out and sat down at an outside picnic table. "Calum?" He looked up at me. "I don't like Laura. I love her."


	9. Chapter 10

Laura's P.O.V.

So I woke up this morning. I had a strange feeling that...

I WAS FOURTEEN!

Yay! Raini hasn't texted me about it yet. AND IT'S ALREADY 6:30! She always likes to text my at the exact moment I was born. 3:47. (I don't know the actual time of Laura's birth.) I got up out of bed. "LAURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" It was Vanessa. But she didn't sound exited. She sounded like she was choking on tears. I walked down stairs. "Sister, it's not like I'm moving away, no need to cry!" She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. "Oh but Laura, there is. Look..." She handed me a small piece of paper. I read it out loud. "Dear our sweet little girls, we have moved to Camden because your father found and job and you know that we couldn't afford to take care of you. We have to stay there until we make enough money to raise..." I stopped. "They missed my birthday..." I broke down in tears. "Laura, you know a happy birthday. All I want is you to have a happy birthday." I shook my head. "It's not possible, Nessa." Well my birthday is off to a _WONDERFUL_ start. The phone started ringing. I picked it up. "Hello?" On the other end, Ross screamed, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!" I couldn't find words. I just cried. To my surprise, Ross didn't ask what was wrong. "Hey, hey, don't cry, it's going to be okay." I tried to explain. But I still couldn't find words. I just sobbed into the phone. I managed to choke out, "I-it's m-my b-birthday." "I know it is. But don't cry." I sort of liked how he didn't nag at me to tell him what was wrong. "Do you know?" I asked. "What? No. I just hate hearing you cry..." I imagined him here, now. Talking to me. I started to calm down. "Ross, my parents left me..." He went silent. "Look, can you meet me at my house?" I rubbed my puffy eyes. "Okay." I shakily hung up the phone. "Vanessa, Ross wants us to go to his house." She nodded. "Laura, we can't live here. We can't pay. I'm too young for a job!" I nodded. "It's just a place to sleep at night. Turn off all electricity. We can't pay the bills, Ness, but maybe if we call our Landlord, he'd understand?" I grabbed my coat. "Kay. Let's go..." She murmured. We walked there, because if we needed to save money, we couldn't pay for gas. It was a REALLY long walk. But yet, I was still bawling my eyes out in the streets of California. I suddenly spoke up. "What about Switched at birth?" I asked Vanessa. "I don't know." She admitted. A person walked up to us. "Your THE Vanessa Marano?" He asked. She nodded, tears still streaming down her face. "Why are you crying?" He asked. "I don't want to talk about it," She snapped, and we stormed off. We arrived at Ross's house. I slowly knocked. He opened it to my crying face. I ran in and hugged him. He hesitated, then hugged me back. Vanessa stood by herself, crying. "Why the HELL did you want us here Lynch?" She hissed. I looked back at her still latched on to Ross. "I-I just..." Ross trailed off. I knew she was upset, but she didn't have to be so mean. "Ness..." I started. "NO. It's my baby sister's birthday, we don't need to waste time at your house Ross!" She snapped. "Can I just-" Ross was cut off by Vanessa. "NO! Come on, Laura!" She grabbed my wrist. "No, Vanessa, I want to stay here..." I grabbed Ross's hand. It sent a weird wave of electricity through me, but I ignored it. "Fine. FINE! I'm leaving." She slammed the door. He pulled me into a hug. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Not really..." I whispered. He brushed my hair out of my face and wiped away my tears with his thumb. "Please don't cry. Raini, Calum and I have a special day planned for you." I nodded. "Okay." After about 10 minutes of calming down, I was ready. I told Ross. "Okay, I'm done..." He clapped. "Let's go!" He grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. "C'mon!" We walked together, he didn't say anything. He just dragged me across the sidewalk. We arrived at my favorite pottery painting place! Raini and Calum were standing there, with jazz hands. I smiled. "Yay!" They pushed me inside. There was a table there with four Slushies and a card at one of the spots, with paint brushes. I sat down at the spot with the card. (The card that Shelly the lunch lady gave to Ross)They sat sat next to me with Calum on the other side and Raini facing me. "Let's go pick our models!" Ross exclaimed. We walked over to the shelf. I had a brilliant idea. I picked out a model of a boy with a guitar. I smiled. Ross picked a piggy bank, Calum picked a fries mold and Raini picked a mirror. I painted the boy with bright yellow hair, deep, beautiful brown eyes, and a plaid shirt and white jeans. Ross. He had been so kind to me, so I thought I might give him something in return. I sipped at my Slushie. "Blue raspberry!" I said happily. Ross smiled. It gave me chills. Eughhhh... We finished painting and we could come pick them up next week. "I am starving!" I suddenly felt my stomach growl. Raini took my hand. "Great!" She smiled widely. They took me to a restaraunt called 'Dine Worldwide'. Can I get poutine there? I looked down at my purple and turquoise shrit. I had matched it with light jean shorts. Raini shoved me in the door. She walked to the front desk, checked us in and we sat at a booth, that was rounded at the corner. Ross smiled, along with Raini and Calum. Ross had all the menus. "One for Raini, one for Calum, one for me and one for Miss. Fourteen!" He took my hand and kissed it on the top then handed me the menu. I giggled. Beside me, Calum closed his menu dramatically. "What are we all having?" I took the me menu and balanced it on his head. "Miss. Fourteen will have a small poutine with a tossed salad." Raini and Ross exchanged glances. "I'll have dumplings and rice." Raini took Calum's menu and hit him over the head with it. He gave her a playful dirty glance. "I'll have the Italian pasta!" Ross grabbed the parmesan cheese off the table. We all stared at Calum. "I'm having the Nova Scotia fish and chips." He shrank back into his seat. We all started laughing. The waitress came and took our orders. After a few minutes, Ross got up. About 10 minutes later he came back with my poutine, the waitress following him with the rest. She gave everyone the food. Ross smiled and handed me the poutine. The waitress tried to reach and give me my drink, but she push Ross, causing the fries, sticky gravy and cheese curds to splatter all over my shirt. Great. I looked up at him and burst out laughing. He was trying to clean it off, but it wasn't working. He looked at me. "What? I just ruined your shirt!" He said frantically. The waitress ran off as soon as she finished with us. "Ross, it's okay!" He ran around and got his back pack and pulled out a white shirt out. "Here," He handed it to me. "Go change." I shook my head and went to the washroom. I just realized- I'm wearing a black bra. I groaned. If I took it off- well, too revealing. But black?! I groaned again. Someone walked in. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Yes... um, do you by any chance have an extra bra or under shirt?" I opened my stall door, ravelling my stained shirt. She looked at me. "Oh my..." she gasped. "Yeah... and the only shirt I have is white... and my bra is black." She smiled. "Your so tiny, I don't know if mine would fit you." She handed me a slightly bigger tank top. A white one. "Thank you!" I hugged her. "Sorry. I like hugs!" She laughed. "Umm... here is my number, so I can get it back later on." She slipped a piece of paper under my stall. "Thank you!" I called as she left. It was slightly too big for me, but it covered me. I slipped on Ross's shirt, which went past my knees. And my shorts. Oh well. I walked out of the stall, and back to the table. I saw a fresh plate of my spilled lunch at my seat. Ross was staring at me. "I have shorts on, I swear." His eyes sparked with amusement. I sat next to Calum, still smiling at Ross. "What?" I asked. "You look so cute in my shirt..." He smiled back. I blushed. "Uhh, thanks, Shor." I laughed. He scowled. "Why does every one target my middle name?" We finished eating, and they dragged me along the road, Ross and I fell in behind. I'm slow, I guess... I looked up at Ross, biting the inside of my bottom lip. "Ross?" He looked down at me. "Mm hm?" I felt my eyes starting to burn. "Do you think... my parents... really- (my voice cracked)- love me?" His face melted into a soft frown. "Laura... Look... Laura, Laura! Don't cry! _Please_! I hate seeing you cry." He stopped walking and put his hand on my cheek. "Don't cry, beautiful, beautiful girl..." I looked at him, tears streaming down my face. "Sorry..." I whispered. "You don't have to be sorry. Laura, of course your parents love you. They left because they love you!" He brushed the hair out of my face. "But-" I started. "No, Laura. No buts. No crying, no being sad. Okay?" I bit my lip harder. "Why do you care? It's not like you care that I'm sad. You don't know how it feels..." He grabbed my shoulders rather harshly. I looked down. "Look at me." He ordered. I didn't listen. "Look at me." His grip and voice softened. I looked up slowly. "Laura." He said firmly. "I don't want to see you cry. I want to see you smile. Why? because... -(he stopped)- that is a good sentence for a song... anyway. Because, Laura, I love you, as the best friend ever. I don't know... I just feel like... I... I don't know. I-" I stopped him. "You get butterflies too?" I asked. He looked surprised. "Yes... it's weird. But that's not the point. You don't think they love you? How could anyone not love you?" I looked strait into his eyes. "Thank you, Ross." His eyes lit with slight laughter. "I'm glad people remembered my real name." I laughed. He let go of my shoulders and held out his hand. "Ready?" He asked. "Yeah... I am."

We arrived at Ross's house, and Ross covered my eyes and guided me inside. He slipped his hands off. Wow... Streamers, balloons, gifts, table cloth, ribbons, cake. Riker, Rocky, Rydel, Ryland, Ellington, Stormie, Mark... and Vanessa. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA MARIE MARANO!" They all screamed. I looked back at Ross, Raini and Calum. "Oh my strawberry Gogurt!" I hugged Ross, knocking him back a little. I went around and hugged all of them. Ellington did it to. Because he's... Ellington. We sat down at the dinner table and got the cake lit. They sang happy birthday... I and I have to say, the Lynch family sounds like angels. I blew out my candles and wished that... Ross would always be this sweet. He was that one in a billion guy, that is kind, sweet and so, so, understanding. And... that my parents would come back to me. We all received a piece of cake. Every on stared at me, waiting for me to take a bite of the cake. I pushed a mouthful into my mouth. I dropped my fork on the table. "THIS ISN'T AN ICE CREAM CAKE. IT'S A GOGURT CAKE!" I started shoveling it into my face. We all finished, and Ross walked me over to the door. Calum came over to us. "Uh, Raini and I... uh... can't go to the surprise... we have to studyyyy..." Ross furrowed his eyebrows. "But..." Calum looked at him funny. "You can do it." He patted him on the shoulder and walked away.

Calum's P.O.V

Raini and I are ditching the fireworks... to give them alone time. Ross told me he loved her. And, they call me the love whisperer. Okay, no one calls me that. Ross and Laura... are so... perfect, and they need this. And if they are meant to be, then it will happen slowly. Just wait for it.

Laura's P.O.V

Ross took me to an open field with a blanket sitting in among the sweet smelling grass. We sat down on it. He texted someone. "Watch." He whispered. A loud boom sounded in the sky, revealing sparkly colorful sparks exploding into the sky. I gasped as more went off. "Oh my gosh, Ross!" He smiled. I looked at him. "No one... has been as kind as you. Especially a guy... Ross, this was my dream as kid. To have fireworks on my birthday, like they were mine and you-" He interrupted. "Yeah. And Laura? You and Vanessa are living at my house until your parents come back. We made arrangements, and Vanessa agreed." I was about to protest, but he continued. "You can't change it now. It was made that my parents are your legal guardians." I smiled. "Thank you." An other firework exploded. And an other. They were dancing around, making a show in the night sky. "Ross, they are beautiful." He smiled. "What?" I asked. "Not as beautiful as you." I raised my eyebrows slightly. We both started leaning towards each other. I closed my eyes. _BOOM!_ A loud firework shot off into the sky. "Uhh, sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "No, no it's fine..." I whispered. It fell into an awkward silence. After a few minutes, I broke it by being more awkward. "You know, that's what I'm all about. Being awkward! I'm so weird. Ha ha!" He chuckled. "You are awkward, Marie!" I scowled. "Shor!" I teased. "Marie!" He took his arms and wrapped them around my shoulders and pulled me towards his chest. "Ross Shor Lynch? I don't think there would ever be another Ross Shor." He smiled widely. "So? I'm unique." I wiggled out of his grip. "Tell me about yourself. Your favorite color, food, movie." He nodded. "Okay... Yellow. I'll eat ANYTHING. And... promise not to laugh?" I nodded. "Why? Is it the tellitubbies or something?" I laughed. He laughed too. "No... I've never told anyone before. But... I think you're the only one who won't laugh. My favorite movie is Romeo and Juliet." I smiled. "You have a soft side." I smiled wider. "You're looking at it. Your turn." I nodded. "Kay. Red is my favorite color. And Gogurt, as you discovered tonight. And I really don't have a favorite movie." I said, hoping he'd tell me more about himself. "Um, okay. I'm really into airplanes. I'm the only one in my family in middle school... Ryland is in elementary. I love to write songs, sing, dance. I love music. If I don't wet my hair before going in the pool, my hair turns lime green. - (I giggled)- Uhm, I love all animals, I have a liking to acting and me, my brothers, sister and Ellington want to start a band. I think that's all." Wow. He just told me every thing. "Wow, um okay... I'm the baby sister. I LOVE acting. Music is my passion! I write song ALL the time. I'm not keen on dancing, but I am on singing. I love all animals too! My sister stars on switched at birth... uh and... as a little kid, I had an imaginary friend who got ran over by a car. And when people asked how I was doing, I was like, 'Eh, not so good. My friend just died.'" He burst out laughing. I added one more thing. "I also LOVE corny jokes." He smiled. "Where does the king keep his armies?" He asked. "Where?" I responded. "In his sleevies!" I laughed and laughed until I couldn't anymore. "You weren't kidding!" He laughed I shook my head. "Thanks for the great night Ross..."

Vanessa and I moved in officially. I slept in Ross's room under his bed. (We made it into a bunk bed!) And Ness slept with Rydel. I was trying to sleep at the moment, but I couldn't. A flash of bright blonde hair flicked down towards me. Ross looked down at me. "Can't sleep?" I nodded. He climbed down. I stood up, out of bed. "Want me to stay with you, Miss. Fourteen?" I smiled slightly. "Yes please." I stood up and he got comftorble in my bed. I layed down beside him. "Put your head on my chest." He suggested. I nodded and settled my head on his chest. A single tear dipped down my face. "I miss them." He started brushing my cheek with his thumb. It seemed to calm me down. "How many times do I have to tell you not to cry?" He smiled. "Thanks." I smiled.

Vanessa's P.O.V

I looking in at Ross's door... he left it open a crack. He makes Laura feel better. I think this guy is a good guy. Stormie walked up to me. "Look." I whispered. Stormie peered in at them. "Awww!" She smiled. "I think that Rossy has his first crush. He's never been this way around a girl before." She pushed the door closed. "Get some sleep, Hun." Stormie smiled. "Okay." I walked back to Rydel's room. "Delly!" She spun around from doing her nails. "Yeah?" I smiled excitedly. "Ross and Laura! I'll tell you everything!"

Laura's P.O.V

Slowly, I fell asleep, on Ross's chest. It felt like my head belonged there. Weird, right?


	10. Chapter 11

Ross's P.O.V

Can I just say... woah. Laura and Vanessa live at my house. Laura turned 14 a week ago. My birthday is coming up... so is Christmas. Drama practice is tomorrow. (Yes! It's Sunday tomorrow!) Drama practice is 12:00- 5:00 at school. 5 hours! Egh. I got a beep from my phone.

 ** _Raini_**

Hi Ross.

Hey Raini, what's up?

Want to go as a group to the beach? I know a place to find LOADS of sand dollars.

Okay! I'll get Laura up, get ready then pack I guess. Pick us up at 10.

Kay. See you then.

Bye.

I hopped out of bed and got dressed in the bathroom. I walked in to see Laura still sleeping. I laughed. I walked over to her bed. "Laura." I whispered. She groaned. "No." She croaked. "Raini says we are going to the beach at 10 and it's 8:45." I shook her. She bolted up. "Oh my god. Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" I shrugged. She bounced to her dresser, got clothes and hurried to the bathroom. I started to pack towels, bathing suits and Gogurt. Because Raini doesn't have any. Laura walked back in. "How should I put my hair? Pony tail? Straitened? You know what, these are questions for Rydel." She started to leave. "Pig tails." I said. She looked back at me. "What?" She asked. "Wear your hair in two pony tails. That way, it will be out of your face but it will also show off your hair." She looked stunned. "Okay..." I chuckled. "I live with Rydel!" She smiled. I got up and walked to the door of my room. We walked downstairs, to see everyone awake. Riker walked up to us. "Hey, what's the rush?" I gave him a playful scowl. "The beach. Without you." He shoved me playfully. "Whatever." He smiled. We raced down stairs. "Here, toast." I popped four pieces of bread into the toaster. "Do you have jam?" Laura asked hopefully. I nodded. "Yes... four different kinds." I popped the toast up and handed her two of them. "I only want one." She handed the other piece to Ryland. "Thanks Laura!" Ryland bit into the toast. "Dry toast?" Laura asked. "Yeah your right it needs peanut butter." He rummaged through the cupboards for the peanut butter. Laura ran upstairs... probably to put her hair up. The doorbell rang. Laura ran down to answer it. "Hey girl!" Raini hugged Laura as soon as I opened the door. "Hi." Laura hugged back. Raini smiled. "Your hair is so cute. Rydel is a miracle worker." Laura looked back at me and giggled a little bit. "Actually, Ross thought of it!" She said while twirling her ponytails. Raini looked confused. Before she could make a remark, I screamed, "I LIVE WITH RYDEL LYNCH!" They laughed and then Laura grabbed her bag. "Let's go!" Laura yelled, and the girls and I headed out to Raini's mom's car. Her car was weird, it had 3 seats in the front and two in the back. Calum was already there, in the middle of the front seats, so Laura and I sat in the back so Raini could be up front. What can I say? I'm a nice guy. Diane (Raini's mom) turned on the radio, and Shake it off was playing. Laura smiled and giggled. I smiled widely. Raini looked back at us. "Don't you dare this is my mom's car and she will turn it arou-" Laura and I started singing at the top of our lungs. "CAUSE THE PLAYERS GONNA PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY AND THE HATERS GONNA HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE, BABY I'M JUST GONNA SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE, I SHAKE IT OFF, I SHAKE IT OFF, OH OH," As we sang, Diane and Calum joined in. After a while, Raini joined in. We all laughed for _at least_ 20 minutes. "So, someone's birthday is coming!" Raini back at me. I smiled. "It's my stuffed animal's birthday on the 23rd." Calum looked as if he didn't know it was my birthday soon. "Get a life," Raini retorted. "It's Rossy's birthday!" Laura smiled at her new nickname for me. "Ross, seince you gave me a nickname, I gave everyone one. Mine is Laur, yours is Rossy, Raini's is Rain and Calum is Cale." Calum pumped his fist in the air. "Yessssssss!" Laura pulled out her phone and texted someone. Raini got a text alert, and looked back Laura and nodded. Birthday suprise for me? :D! I started to smell the salt of the ocean. "We're almost there!" Dianne cried. After a few minutes, we were all in our bathing suits, ready to go. Laura bounced towards the sand, followed by Calum, who was mimicking her. Raini rolled her eyes and fell behind with me. "We have weird friends." Raini looked up at me. I laughed. "Yeah..." I stared up ahead, not noticing that I was staring. "Ross?" Raini waved her hand in front of my face. "Uh-huh..." I continued staring. "Your staring at Laura." She muttered. "Damn it!" I whispered. "Uhh, her bouncing is too weird not to stare at." Raini nodded. "I know right?" Relief flooded over me. What if she suspected my... crush? On Laura?

~An hour later~

"Guys, I'm going in the water! Who's coming?" I asked. Laura smiled. "Meeeee!" She got up and jumped on my back. I staggered backwards and laughed. "Okay then." Raini made a disgusted face. "It's too cold." She hissed. Calum looked at me, sunscreen plastered on his nose. "I'm tanning." I snorted. "More like burning. See you guys after." I started running, Laura waved from on top of my back. I ran down the beach, the sun kissing my face. I let her down when my toes met the tips of the waves. She ran into the water, then stopped when her feet were covered in the ocean water. "It's so coooooollllllddddddd!" She whined. I smiled. "Well it's November." I walked towards her. She looked back at me, her tiny body shivering violently. The smile was wiped off my face as her bottom lip slightly turned blue. "Oh my god." I said, panicking. "Ross I'm cold." She murmured shakily. "Okay... uh... okay." I scooped up her shaking body. I hesitated as her lips turned a brighter blue. "Can you breath, Laura?" I asked, hugging her closer to my bare chest. I wished I had my coat on. I would wrap her in it in, so she would be warm. "Yes... but I'm cold." Tears fell from her face. I hugged her tighter, drawing my thumb across her tears. I rushed towards our towels and put her down. Calum and Raini watched in horror, as I wrapped Laura's frosted body in all of our towels. "Go to the car and heat it up!" I ordered Calum and Raini. They rushed off with all our stuff. Laura was thick with towels, and the blue color in her lips had faded a little bit. I picked her up and ran to the car, where Dianne had just left for the washroom. I sat her trembling body in the backseat. "Thanks Ross." She huddled herself together. I sat down beside her and she cuddled against me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her and I kissed the top of her head. "Any thing."

~The next day at 12:00pm~

We all were dropped off at school for drama practice, where we entered and greeted Mme. Sprague. We sat down together. We all practiced. Laura was acting so well. Calum and Raini too, of course. But she added her own emphasis. It was truly inspiring. Part of the reason that I like her so much.


	11. Chapter 12

Laura's P.O.V

Woke up today, feeling the way, I always do!

Sometimes you have to spontaneously break into song, right?

ANY WHOOOO,

I actually got up before Ross this morning. I walked down stairs and Stormie was standing by the granite top counter. She had the phone held to her chest. She smiled. "Good, you're awake. It's your mom." She handed me the phone. My eyes widened. I took the phone in my trembling hands and held it up to my ear. "H-... uh... Hello?" Tears burned at the edge of my eyes. "Laura? Honey?" It was my mom's voice. I sniffed and felt a tear glide down my cheek. "Yes." I murmured. "Are you okay?" She whispered. "Fine. You?" I said, with an edgy tone to my voice. "Laura... I'm sorry, your father and I-" I stopped her. "No mom! You and dad nothing! You left on my birthday! I'm fourteen years old!" She didn't answer for a moment. "Yes, but you have to under-" "Understand what?! You left me! And Vanessa! You know what? I don't want to talk to you any more!" My eyes burned from crying as I hung up the phone angrily. Stormie looked at me. "Laura sweetie, do want any breakfast?" She was obviously trying to change the subject. "Can I just... go to my room?" I asked, trying to sound calm. She nodded. I ran, trying not to cry out loud sobs. I opened my door and ran in. Ross was still sleeping, so I slammed myself on my bed. I heard Ross getting up. "Laura? Are you okay?" Ross asked. I sounded stuffed up. "Yes. Fine. Just..." I slammed my face in my pillow and muttered: "Wonderful." He climbed down the ladder of his bed and sat next to me. I sat up and leaned on his shoulder. "My mom called." I whispered hoarsely. I heard a small gasp. "Really?" He asked. I nodded and sniffed. "It's like she freaking hates me!" I shifted my position when he wrapped his arms around me. "Laura, she loves you." Ross played with piece of my hair. "Almost as much a I do." I looked up at him. "What?" He smiled. "Your my best friend. I love you, as my best friend." I smiled. "Then I love you, too." I reached for his hand, resting on my shoulder. We intertwined our fingers together. Butterflies rose in my stomach. We looked at each other and smiled. "Do you want any thing for breakfast before school?" Ross asked, still gazing into my eyes. "Okay..." We just sat on my bed staring at each other for a minute. My heart beat was getting so fast, I'm pretty sure it would win a race with the fastest cheetahs. "Ross! Mom says to come and get breakfast!" Rocky opened our door and stopped, looking at us. We awkwardly pulled away from our 'hug' and sat beside each other. Ross nodded. "Okay." We both got up and darted past Rocky, then headed down stairs. After we had breakfast, Ross and I ran out to the bus stop. "Laura?" Ross said out of the blue. "Mm?" I looked up at him. He started to dig through his book bag, then pulled out his blue notebook. He flipped it open. "What do you think?" He handed it to me. On it, lyrics to a song was on it. "This is amazing! Sing it for me!" He nodded. "I'm talking 'bout starting out as friends, I'm talking 'bout real and not pretend, I'm talking 'bout roles of a life time, you and I can even write the end, yeah, here comes that movie scene, one you hate, so cliché, that moment when we kissed, by the lake, pouring rain, I ain't no super man, but I can, change your world, ohhhhh, here comes forever girl." Ross smiled at the expression on my face. "You're an amazing singer..." I murmured. He smiled wider. "You think so? Thanks, Laura!" He drew his arms around me and pulled us into a hug. "Oh, before I forget..." He began digging through his bag again. This time he pulled out a small black box. "So... I forgot to give you a birthday present. And well... here it is!" He handed it to me. My face lit up as I opened it. "Wow Ross... it's gorgeous. You didn't have to-" He nodded. "Yes I did." He held out his hand. On it was a sliver ring with his name written in cursive on it. So did mine, but with my name. I slid it on to my finger. He smiled. "It's to signify our friendship." I hugged him again. "Thank you, Rossy." I smiled when he shoved me. "What? You are ROSSY, Rossy." He glared at me playfully. "Rossy? Seriously?" He asked. "Yep." I nodded. Soon, the bus came and we hopped on. I tapped Ross on the shoulder while we were standing in the lane. I pointed to the back, where I saw a free seat. "Yes!" He exclaimed. We raced to it, and I sat by the window, he sat by the aisle. We high-fived. My eye was a little blurry, so I rubbed it, nothing happened. My other eye was fine... oh dammit. I lost my contact! "Ross! I lost my contact lens!" I whispered. He looked at me. "Where?" He asked. "Look!" I pointed towards a persons shoe, where I could just see a clear half circle. "That guy is going to step on it!" I whispered frantically. He got up and walked towards it. "Ross sit down please." Tony, the bus driver said. He quickly snatched the contact and awkwardly stalked back to our seat. He handed it to me. "Damn it! It's scratched!" I muttered. "I'm so sorry Laura!" He looked down at my hand. "It's my fault for not noticing. But now I'm pretty much blind in my left eye." He looked at me with sympathy. "Don't you have an extra pair?" I nodded. "Yes, but I always stupidly keep them at home." I sighed. He pulled out his phone and texted someone. After a while, he got a text alert. "I texted Rydel, she can go pick them up at lunch hour and bring them to our school for you at the office." He said. My heart skipped a beat. My extra contacts are beside my open diary! UGGGGGHHHH why the HELL do I keep that open?! I nodded. "Uhh, can I text her where it is? They are inside my drawer now." He nodded and passed me his phone.

Rydel's P.O.V

 _ **Ross**_

Hi Rydel this is Laura. DELETE THIS MESSAGE AFTER YOU SEE IT! My contacts are by my OPEN diary. PLEASE don't read it, and I know you will anyways but please don't tell Ross what's in it! PLEASE!

Okay thanks Laura.

BJHUEDKUWEHFOIH! What's in Laura's diary?! I'll have to wait and see...

~AT LUNCH~

I drove into our driveway. Luckily, Mom and Dad weren't home. I smiled devilishly and unlocked the front door. I scooted up to Ross and Laura's room and inside her closet (Yes I knew that her dresser was in her closet...) and saw the contact lens box. I picked up her diary as well, and started reading.

November 30th

Yesterday, was my birthday. Raini, Calum and Ross made it so special, and of course every one else too. We went out for dinner, did pottery, ( Harry Pottery... HAHAHAHAHA!) then WE HAD A FRICKING Go-gurt cake! And my favorite part, Ross took me to an empty field and we watched fireworks. I told him how I had always wanted this and how beautiful they were... then he smiled. I asked him what... do you know what he said? That they weren't as beautiful as me. It made me feel so loved... like my life meant something. Then, I almost had my first kiss. ALMOST. I don't know what's going on, I don't know if I have mixed feelings, false feelings... or if I like him... but that... was an amazing feeling.

~Laura

I cringed with excitement. Laura's first kiss was going to be with my little brother?! *Fangirls*

I got a whistle from my phone.

 _ **Ross**_

Rydel! Laura needs her contacts NOW! Math is next class and she sits in the back.

Okay... leaving the house now.

I arrived at their school and headed in. I breathed in the scents of my old school. Disgusting packed lunches and delicious cafeteria food. I walked to the front desk. "Hi, these are for Laura Marano." I told Mrs. Brown, the secretary. She smiled. "Good to see you Rydel! Thank you." She picked up the P.A system. "Laura Marano to the office please, Laura Marano to the office." I left, just seeing a glimpse of Ross and Laura running down the stairs.

Laura's P.O.V

FINALLY RYDEL IS HERE! She couldn't be any more late. I was called down to the office when our class was going to math! Anyway. Now that I have my contacts, I can see! YAY!... OFF TO MATH!

Ross and I walked up the stairs, nearly smashing into several waves of people traveling to fourth period. "Ughh I hate math..." Ross muttered. "Ha ha, get used to it, we're going into grade 9 next year." I reminded him. He heaved a huge sigh. "Let's go."

We arrived at math class, where I sat next to a guy named Dyllon and a girl named Dannikah. We also had seating arrangements together in L.A., so when we do projects and we don't have a choice for partners, (The teacher pairs us together) we call our 'company' DLD. Dyllon, Laura and Dannikah. Ross, Raini and I never actually were partnered together, which sucked, but I still liked Dyllon and Dannikah.

Ross looked at me from the front row of the classroom, his face was smiling, but his eyes told me sympathy. I looked at him quietly, with a questioning look. Our math teacher was super nice, so she let us use our phones (as long as it was school appropriate and silent) while she was preparing the lesson. Ross pulled out his flat faced cell-phone. It was the new Blackberry one, with the slide out keyboard. {Be reminded that it's not the 20th century yet} Suddenly, I felt my pocket vibrate. I pulled out my flip phone, the one I got last year.

 _ **Ross**_

How is your vision?

Fine, fine.

What does that mean?

It means that my contacts are fine.

I heard him chuckle as he read my text.

Okay, Laur.

Bye, Rossy!

I flipped the cover to my phone down and put it back in my bag. I breathed in through my nose, taking a moment for life to sink in. My mother is still out there... when will she come back? Will I be happy to see her? I sure wasn't happy to talk to her on the phone. I sighed. The teacher, Mrs. Kenna, walked to the front of the room, staring at us all. Her heels clicked on the shiny freshly waxed floor. She picked up a chard of chalk and walked over to the black board. "Today, will be a free period-" The class shrieked, looking around at one another with happy, teeth-showing smiles. I felt like throwing up. I hate free periods, because Raini and I are never able to sit with each other. She continued. "If you have any work- for example, the homework I gave out last night- I suggest you do it." Ross and I exchanged grins. We had finished it together last night. Mrs. Kenna drew a happy face on the board. "Go on." She laughed. "But next period won't be free!" She sat down at her cluttered desk and opened her laptop. I pulled out my phone.

 **Group chat: Ross, Raini, Calum**

Me

Hey guys. Cale, you have a free period?

Calum

Yahs. Bored tho.

Me

What wonderful grammar.

Ross

Lol like your any better.

Me

Haha yes, I am, because it's you're, not your.

Ross

Why you little...

He turned his head to glare at me then went back to his phone.

Raini

You guys are so immature.

Me

Like you're any better.

Ross

laura, I belive its your

Me

Nope, actually, your entire sentence there was wrong. It's Laura, names are capitalized. 'Belive' is spelled believe and 'its' is it's. Plus, I had the right you're. ANNNDDD, you forgot the period at the end of your sentence.

Ross

Damn you.

Raini

I say one thing...

Calum

Yah, I know. *eye roll*

Ross

Me

What's that mean?

Ross

It's a face narrowing his eyes at you. See? -_-

Me

OMG! Awesome! -_- -_- -_-

Ross

And I'm the immature one?

Me

Raini

Wow Laura...

Calum

Uh... yeah, whatever.

We spend the whole period talking, which I loved. After school, I told Ross I was going to Raini's. He seemed disappointed, but I knew he wouldn't be.

He was in for a big birthday surprise.


	12. Chapter 13

Ross's P.O.V

TODAY IS THE START OF CHRISTMAS VACATION!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I suppose you're (not your :P) thinking that I'm Laura... nope.

I sat up in my bed, gripping the yellow sheets in excitement. I inhaled through my nose deeply and exhaled through my mouth. "Wow." I breathed. I was so excited to spend my first Christmas with Laura, Calum and Raini at my house. I heard Laura stir beneath me. She let out a high pitched sigh-scream sort of thing. "Good morning, no homework." I said, looking down at Laura, who's curly brown hair was sticking up in all directions. I smiled when she took a deep breath through her nose. Her eyes popped open wide. "What that smell?" She closed her eyes and inhaled again. "Mom's chocolate chip and cinnamon pancakes." I shuffled down my ladder, gripping the wooden bars. Laura got up and felt around her fluffy nest on her head. "How the heck do I fix this?" She asked, while trying to pat it down. I chuckled and hurled a hairbrush at her. She caught it in her small, pale hands. "Try this magic wand called a hair brush."

She gave me a sarcastic look. "Thanks, fairy godmother. You've saved me."

I smiled to myself and opened the door to my bedroom, into the hallway. Loud snoring sounded from Rocky's room. Ellington slept over, obviously. I walked downstairs, avoiding my moms praise that I had gotten out of bed. Whoopdee doo.

Riker came downstairs after a while. I was sitting on our sticky, green, leather couch. He sat next to me. I gazed up at him. "You look troubled." I murmured. He glanced back at me. "Yeah, I guess you could say that..." He whispered. His face was twisted with emotional pain as he handed me his phone shakily. I looked at the texts on the screen.

 ** _Audrey_**

Riker, your a b**ch.

I gasped as read the text. Audrey... Riker's girlfriend. I kept reading.

What do you mean?

I know you cheated.

What the frigg are you talking about?

You _slept_ with Rayleigh.

What the hell? First, EW. Second, EWWWW! Third, who the frigg told you that?

Everyone.

It ended there.

"You didn't actually-" Riker cut me off. "GOD NO! I talked to her during gym class. Then we walked to the locker rooms together. I would have been with Audrey, but she's not in my gym class." I looked at him with sympathy. "If she really loves you, she'll believe you." Riker nodded, but sighed sadly. "Hey, love is a cruel thing. But if you hit the right keys, see what it can bring." I said as he walked solemnly away. My eyes widened. I took out my note book and wrote it down.

 _Love is a cruel thing, but hit the right keys and see what it can bring._

I smiled warmly as Laura came down stairs with a mad expression on her little face. She walked towards me, pointing at the hairbrush that was stuck in her hair. "Fix this."

I laughed and I started working at it. She giggled a few times and said, "That tickles." She's so cute. I brushed her hair calmly, being carful not to hurt her. She squealed in pain, and I stopped. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "You're not as bad as my mom is." I could tell she was trying to make a joke, but she just couldn't. I continued brushing. When her hair was soft again, I sat there for a few minutes, stroking it. She seemed to like it, though. "Ross?" Her voice sounded weary. I loved it when she said my name. For reasons I don't know. "Yes?" I asked, continuing to stroke her soft hair. "Do you... do... uh... do you think... I should... call her?"

I looked at her, understandingly. "Your mom?" I asked, even though I knew it was her mom. She nodded slowly. "Well that's your decision. Do you think she'd appreciate it? I mean, didn't she call you a few weeks ago?" I was now twirling her hair. "Let me know if I hurt you." I murmured, continuing to twist. "I will. And, yes, she did call me. But I was lashing out at her. I feel stupid. She didn't even try to say Happy Birthday either." She let out a long sigh, looking over her shoulder at me. She smiled and turned back. Aww. "Well... maybe Vanessa could call." I suggested. She nodded, but stayed silent for a moment. "I think I need to apologize. And so does she." She turned to me, which made me stop playing with her hair. "Is that a good idea?" She asked, smiling. I nodded. "Yup. Sounds good." She smiled wider, giving me chills. "BRECKFEAST!" Mom yells from the kitchen. All of us filed towards the table. I greeted Vanessa and Rydel, as they joined us. Riker looked at me and I knew what happened. With his look saying so much pain and hurt. He told her the truth, and she didn't believe him. I sighed, giving him an apologetic look. Mom started serving the pancakes to each of us. She grumbled in annoyance. "I have to take care of 7 kids..." But she smiled afterward, notifying us that it was a joke. Laura and I both smiled back, while the rest of them chatted. I shook my head at their dumb conversation. It was on who would most likely to become president in a zombie movie. What the hell? I shook my head again, the glanced over beside me, where Laura sat. She glanced up at me, laughing. "Ross?" She asked, still laughing. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Yes?" She continued laughing. "What does a lawyer wear to work?" She asked, shoving a forkful of pancake in her mouth. "What?" Time for one of Laura's jokes. "A law suit." She burst out laughing, staring at my blank face. "That was the dumbest thing you've ever said. Or that anyone has ever said." I rolled my eyes at her, while she continued to laugh even harder

After a while, mom and dad went Christmas shopping with Vanessa and Riker. Ellington left to go home, Rocky took Ryland skateboarding and Rydel was meeting my parents and Vanessa at the mall. Laura was digging in fridge for Go gurt. "There's none." I laughed as she closed the door with a glare on her face. "Ugh." She grumbled. All of a sudden, rain poured down from the sky. _Hard._ Laura looked at me. "That was quick." She stared out the window. Thunder and lightning crashed. The lights turned off. Crap. I can't tell Laura...

Yes... I'm afraid of the dark. I don't want to talk about it. "Hey, I'm going to look for a flash light." I heard her foot steps slowly walk away. "Laura?" I asked, hugging my knees against a wall. "Yes?" Her footsteps stopped. "S-s...stay here please." I felt her body brush mine as she sat next to me. "You're afraid, aren't you?" She asked gently. "Uh... no... maybe. ... Yes." My breathing was loud and uneven. My heart raced. She thinks it's stupid. To my surprise, I felt her cold hand skim over mine continuously. "Tell me about it." She said calmly, continuing with my hand. It seemed to calm me down. "It's stupid." I murmured. I felt her arms wrap around my body. "No, it's not." But she hasn't even heard it. "Okay... uh, I was 7... and my mom and dad left for a minute, so they left..." I breathed in loudly, trying to calm down. "It's okay. I'm here." She whispered. "So they left Riker in charge. It was 9 at night and the power had gone out. I heard a gun shot... turns out Riker was shot in the shoulder." She gasped. "What?" I nodded even if she couldn't see me. "Yes... but that's not why I'm scared now. It was this house. It happened at this house. And... when the lights came back on, we found a note. It said I'm always here... I've been afraid of losing my family... and some guy in my house in the dark. But when I'm with someone I love... I don't know. It's different." My breathing was a little better now, but I still was shaking violently. "Wow..." She whispered. I was about to say something, but she got to it first. "Close your eyes." She murmured. I closed them tightly, waiting for her to say something. "They're closed." I told her. "Okay. Imagine something you want to be doing right now." She was now hugging me tightly, with her head buried in my shoulder. "So you want me to imagine what's happening right now?" I asked. I could almost see her smile- even if I acutely couldn't. She laughed with happiness, and snuggled closer. We heard a bang. A loud one, too. "L-Laura?" I whispered. It was a gun shot. "Laura!" I called desperately. Where is she? "I-I'm here." I took a deep breath in and out. "We have to call 911!" She whispered franticly. Another gun shot went off. She got up slowly. Her back was dragging against the wall, so she could feel around and so she wouldn't get seen. I heard her pick up the phone, giving off small orange lights. she dialed 911 as another shot went off. I could feel the blood draining from my face, and hear it roaring in my ears. "Hi, uh-" another shot. "Um... there has been a few... gun shots... and my friend and I are here alone, and we are having a black out." Her breath sounded shaky as I heard the man on the phone ask something else. Another gun shot. "Uh, I'm 14... my friend-Ross- is 13. Oh, I'm Laura. Yes, I believe so. Uh, 145 McFawn road." The police grumbled something else. "Ross, what's the postal code?" She whispered. Guess what? Another gun shot. "E3A." I started wearily. She repeated it to the officer. "7Y4" She repeated that as well, and the police said one other thing before Laura hung up. "They're coming." She said trying to sound calm.

When the police arrived, they had flash lights. "Laura and Ross?" One of them asked. Laura nodded, her face pale even in the bright light. They searched the house, discovering holes in the walls and windows from shots. After a while, they left with some evidence. When everyone got home, lots of explaining was made.

~Around 5 O'clock~

Laura and I were up in our room, me writing songs and she was making something. She mumbled somthing, then peered upwards to my bunk. "I need to call her." I looked down at her. "Laura, it's 10:00 at night." I remineded her causiously. "Like I care. I miss her. Give me your damn phone." I threw her my phone. She dialed the number slowly. I looked at her with uncertainty. "Even if this goes bad..." She started. "I know I always have you." I smiled to myself. "Me too." I stared at the ceiling. Then, she pressed talk. _You can do it, Laura._


End file.
